A Spanish footballer found guilty of sexually assaulting a female mascot before a La Liga game is maintaining he’s innocent.
Hugo Mallo, 33, who was playing for Celta Vigo at the time of the incident but has since moved to Greek side Aris, inappropriately touched a female mascot’s breast, a Barcelona court ruled.
Judge Salvador Roi Tejedor said in his ruling: “Upon reaching the height of the victim, disguised as a parakeet, the accused, with the intention of satisfying his libidinous desire and of undermining the sexual indemnity of the same, put his hands under the costume and touched her breasts, forcing the victim to step back and push the accused away with her right hand.”
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The incident happened before a league fixture in 2019 as the players of both teams lined up to perform the usual pre-match handshake and rituals. The right back was shown approaching the mascot, who later made a complaint to the police.
Mallo was fined €6,000 (£5,000) by the judge and ordered to pay €1,000 (£843) in damages to the victim. He will also have to pay the legal costs of the proceedings.
In an Instagram post, Mallo insisted he was innocent after posting a video of the incident with the caption: “I continue to categorically deny the facts attributed to me in the ruling… I acknowledged that while turning around after the greetings that my hand could have touched the waist of the parakeet, but I absolutely denied that it touched the parakeet’s breasts.”
Since the incident, the player departed the Spanish outfit after representing the club for more than 20 years between youth and senior level. In 2023, he joined the Brazilian outfit Internacional before transferring to Aris in 2024.